Princess Christiana of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, often referred to as ''Christiane'' (22 September 1634 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

– 20 May 1701 at Delitzsch Castle) was the consort of

Christian I, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg Christian I of Saxe-Merseburg (27 October 1615 – 18 October 1691), was the first duke of Saxe-Merseburg and a member of the House of Wettin. He was the sixth (third surviving) son of John George I, Elector of Saxony, Johann Georg I, Electo ...

, who was the ruling

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Saxe-Merseburg The Duchy of Saxe-Merseburg was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, with Merseburg as its capital. It existed from 1656 or 1657 to 1738 and was owned by an Albertine secundogeniture of the Saxon House of Wettin. History The Wettin Elector J ...

from 1650 until his death.

Life

Christiana was the fourth daughter, and the ninth of 15 children,Essegern, p. 383 of Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his wife, Sophie Hedwig of Saxe-Lauenburg. Christiana was born in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. She was raised by Magdalene Sibylle of Saxony, the widow of the Danish

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

, at her widow seat Nyköpingshus. On 19 November 1650, at the age of 16, Christiana married at

Dresden Castle Dresden Castle or Royal Palace ( or ) is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden, Germany. For almost 400 years, it was the residence of the electors (1547–1806) and List of rulers of Saxony, kings (1806–1918) of Kingdom of Saxony, Saxony from ...

, the third son of

Prince-Elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

John George I of Saxony and his second wife, Duchess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia. This was part of a double wedding: Christiana's elder sister Sophie Hedwig married Christian's younger brother Maurice. The double wedding was followed by four weeks of celebrations, including ballet and other performances, tournaments, parades and fireworks. After her husband died in 1691, Christiana retreated to her widow seat, Delitzsch Castle, which she had received in 1688, replacing the earlier

jointure Jointure was a legal concept used largely in late mediaeval and early modern Britain, denoting the estate given to a married couple by the husband's family. One of its most important functions was providing a livelihood for the wife if she became ...

Sangerhausen Castle.Essegern, p. 416 Delitzsch Castle had been renovated and remodeled to serve as her residence. However, the renovated had not been completed when she moved in on 31 May 1692. During her time at Delitsch, Christiana added a

French formal garden The French formal garden, also called the , is a style of "Landscape architecture, landscape" garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed ...

to the castle.

Marriage and issue

Christian and Christiana had eleven children: * Magdalene Sophie (19 October 1651 in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

– 29 March 1675 in

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

) * John George (4 December 1652 in Merseburg – 3 January 1654 in Merseburg) * Christian II, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg (19 November 1653 in Merseburg – 20 October 1694 in Merseburg), inherited Merseburg. *

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

(15 February 1655 in Merseburg, – 27 March 1715 in

Zörbig Zörbig () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km west of Bitterfeld, and 20 km northeast of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale). Zörbig is well known for its molas ...

), inherited Zörbig. * Stillborn son (1 February 1656 in Merseburg) *

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

(26 October 1657 in Merseburg – killed in action on 1 July 1690 at Fleurus); inherited Lauchstädt. * Christiane (1 June 1659 Merseburg – 13 March 1679 in Eisenberg), married on 13 February 1677 to Christian, Duke of Saxe-Eisenberg. * Sophie Hedwig (4 August 1660 in Merseburg – 2 August 1686 in

Saalfeld Saalfeld () is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin. Geography The town is situated ...

), married on 18 February 1680 to Johann Ernst, Duke of Saxe-Saalfeld. * Heinrich, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg (2 September 1661 in Merseburg – 28 July 1738 in Doberlug), inherited Spremberg; later (1731) also inherited Merseburg. * Maurice (29 October 1662 in Merseburg – 21 April 1664 in Merseburg) * Sibylle Maria (28 October 1667 in Merseburg – 9 October 1693 in Bernstadt); married on 27 October 1683 to Christian Ulrich I, Duke of Württemberg-Oels.

References

Bibliography

* Ute Essegern: ''Fürstinnen am kursächsischen Hof. Lebenskonzepte und Lebensläufe zwischen Familie, Hof und Politik in der ersten Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts'', in the series ''Schriften zur sächsischen Geschichte und Volkskunde'', vol. 19, Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig, 2007, , p. 383–385
Abstract online
* Uta Deppe: ''Die Festkultur am Dresdner Hofe Johann Georgs II. von Sachsen (1660–1679)'', in the series ''Bau + Kunst. Schleswig-Holsteinische Schriften zur Kunstgeschichte'', vol. 13, Ludwig, Kiel, 2006, , p. 14
Online
. {{Authority control House of Oldenburg in Schleswig-Holstein 1634 births 1701 deaths Duchesses in Germany 17th-century German nobility Duchesses of Saxe-Merseburg ⚭Christiana of Schleswigholsteinsonderburgglucksburg Mothers of Saxon monarchs